TACLOBAN CITY — The National Maritime Polytechnic (NMP), the country’s only government-owned maritime training and research institution, is seeking to be reconstituted as an attached agency of the Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) to enhance its operational efficiency and better serve Filipino seafarers.

The NMP on Tuesday completed the first of four public consultations involving representatives from national government agencies, local government units, academe, and the seafaring community, including maritime professionals from across the Visayas.

NMP executive director Victor A. del Rosario said the consultations will help refine and finalize a draft Executive Order that would formally reestablish the agency’s attached status under the DMW.

Del Rosario noted that NMP was previously attached to the Department of Labor and Employment before it was absorbed into the DMW following the department’s creation in December 2021.

“As an attached agency, we can enjoy wider operational autonomy, streamlined bureaucracy, and stronger inter-agency coordination, making us more responsive in carrying out our specialized mandate in maritime training and research,” Del Rosario told the Daily Tribune.

He said NMP’s modernization and expansion plans require stronger institutional capacity and greater operational flexibility, which could be achieved through its reconstitution as an attached agency.